Sukabumi Holiday

Good Times!!!

Cherry Blossoms of Ithaca

Spring came early this year! Or more like,
Spring came early just for me!



I was in Ithaca only for two weeks at the beginning of Aprul, but was lucky enough to see the cherry blossoms and magnolias bloom. We enjoyed having our own cherry blossom picnic lunch by Olin library, with pita and soups from Temple of Zeus. It's quite a privilege to be lazily sitting under the cherry trees, and I find it rather strange that most people don't take advantage of this beautiful location more often. If this was Japan, it'd be spot that one covets for days and nights before the peak blossoming day!

Rombok Bete

This is a little story of how we got there together, some 20 of us taking an afternoon plunge at the waterfall...
On my last day in Mika, I want to go to the green stones waterfall (Rombok Ece) again. After teaching the year 12 English class, I asked one of them, Dara, if she would like to go to Lombok (I had heard the name from little kids, so they can't roll their 'r' s quite yet). She is confused. Lombok? (As in Pulau Lombok?)
Yes.
Eh?
Oooh...ok, Rombok!
Rombok means waterfall in the local language, Dayak.
While Lombok means the island Lombok, to the east of Bali.

According to her, there is another bigger waterfall at about more than an hour's walk from the school. The walk would takes us into the palm oil plantations and into a small stretch of jungle by the stream. "Oh, that sounds exciting!" I said. So we made an appointment to go there after lunch.

Well, I thought it was going to be fine and dandy, but apparently the teachers didn't think so. The kids technically can't go out of the school compound during the month before their final examination, and I can't go out unaccompanied. I stood in front of them for a while and kinda grinned, "It's going to be fine... they're grown up already!" Finally the let up on the note that we should return should I feel that the walk is too strenuous. At that time I was thinking: What could be more strenuous than that Cinque Terre walk uphill for 4 hours! Besides, Ithaca is uphill, day in and day out. It should be fine... except, should anything happen to them... I can't imagine what the consequences would be.

And so we went. We prayed before we set off.
At first it was nerve-wracking to cross the road... there is no light and the traffic is fast. Then there's a long stretch of villagey road. then finally... we got to the shadier plantations area.


It's quite scenic I must say... with the ferns growing on the pillar-like palms, and it's star-shaped fronds shading over us. Except... the heat was quite something. My friends was very kind to take my bag for me and held up the umbrella =P (me being the city bum)


Seems that the guys are more fond of the umbrella than the girls. It's the same umbrella that I've been dragging around Europe and Australia for the past 6 months! =D


Some people used broad leaves as substitute for umbrellas.


This is the stream above the waterfall.


One and a quarter hours later... we have arrived!
Needless to say, it was LOADS of fun splashing.




Hope to see you again!

Frauenchiemsee

Normally I don't do maps, but the location of Fraueinsel is quite interesting, here's a google screenshot of where it is. On the first map, the top left corner is Munich, and on the bottom is Chiemsee (literally, Chiem lake). There is two main islands in Chiemsee, the Herreninsel and the Fraueninsel (literally, the Man island and the Lady island). The second map shows you the die Fraueninsel... isn't it such a cute island? It used to be monastery for women, but now it is open for all.



On Monday I took a day trip with Albert, Pak Steve and Pak Jimmy (left to right) to Chiemsee. From Munich, we took a train (using the ultra cheap 28 euro for 5people Bayern card) and a boat to reach the islands. First we went to Herrenchiemsee and visited the opulent castle of Ludwig II, which is built as a copy of the palace of Versailles. But for all the rich tapestries, porcelain, gold, crystal and marble, the beauty nature still beats the palace, hands down. My favorite part of the visit is seeing the charming home gardens and neighborhood of the Frauenchiemsee, and feeding the tame ducks there...


A silly looking garden decoration~

The homes in Frauenchiemsee exudes a kind of cute-romantic-idyllic atmosphere around it... imagine, living in a neighborhood on an island, with no cars and only boats to travel to the outside world? Ooooh.... *brain drools again*

And how peaceful it would be, sitting on this swing chair, under the weeping willow, by the blue, blue lake...

Finaly, beside the main chapel, there is a great populus tree covered in climbing hedera and clematis, and on it is a prayer fitting for this island:

"God the Father, we bring you thanks, you made the lake so beautiful, surrounded by Your creation. You are the master of the world who created them; receive our praise and glory and honor."

Day 127 - Exhibition Day!

Yayeeee! After a week of absence due to exam/presentation blog, am back blogging!!! Tonight was our Cornell University open house exhibition night:







(Up) I love Anna Rita! She is the our administrator for Cornell in Rome, and she cooks delicious Italian food for our events often, and holds cooking lessons for us too! Oooh... I should one day devote a post in her honor! (Down) Me and my photographs exhibition: it makes me happy! very very so!






Lester, Joy, Me and Jenny

Day 93-99 - Mangiare! Mangiare! Mangiare!!!

The title translates to 'Eat! Eat! Eat!!!' and it's a short story about our love for Italian food and Lester who eats a lot. Enjoy! with a side-note that the music-video synchronization is out of whack.


Online Videos by Veoh.com

This is my first animated stills video produced with Photoshop CS3. It is a part of 10 video series produced with four other friends (Francis, Khairul, Lester and Oren) for the Italian class' Talent Show. It took 8 people and a couple of hours to set the feast and direct the photography (notice: it's food for 8 people that he's finishing up there), a 3AM night to figure out how to animate using photoshop, an entire afternoon to mass-edit and arrange them in order, and another night to add the music and render. It was a behemoth of an effort for something which receives no grade. But that is also what makes it fun.

Production note: This film was inspired by fact: Lester can actually eat this much and more. You are seeing 217 individual photograph stills in this one and a half minute, with the average of 3 stills per second. The music is 'La Redecouverte' from Amélie.

High quality stills from the production:






Coming soon in HD DVD.

Day 86 - Caprarola, Villa Lante and Bomarzo

Hm... I love this format.
This is a Cornell field trip that we went on, on Satruday. None of the Prof. except one came, so it was a very relaxing trip. Not to mention that the weather was drop-dead-gorgeous. I took in a motion sickness pill in the morning as was pretty much asleep throughout the trip, with or without my eyes closed. There's one thing I really want to forget about these days... it makes me want to sleep all the time, wishing that it would be found somehow.